"An Unexpected Guest" at Theatre in the Round

Winter is here, and so is Theatre in the Round's annual Agatha Christie play. The Unexpected Guest is a 1958 play written by the prolific and beloved mystery author and playwright. It begins with a dead body, shot through the head, and the supposed murderer standing by and admitting to shooting him. But of course, it's not as simple as that. We cycle through just about every character as a viable candidate for murderer, until we get to the shocking truth. In the hands of this talented cast and creative team, it's an entertaining ride. The Unexpected Guest plays Fridays through Sundays until December 22, but TRP fans love their Christie so shows are already starting to sell out. Act fast to get your winter mystery fix!

"True West" at Theatre in the Round

Continuing their excellent 71st season, Theatre in the Round is bringing us the dark comedy True West. No one writes the dystopian modern Western like Sam Shepard, with complex, flawed, fascinating characters in the darkest of situations. The cast and creative team at TRP have brought this dysfunctional family to life in the best way. The in-the-round space makes it feel like we're watching these brothers in a fish bowl, surrounding them on all sides with nowhere for them to escape. It's gritty and brutal, and so much fun to be on the outside of it watching this family descend into chaos. True West continues at Theatre in the Round through May 14.

"Noises Off" at Lakeshore Players Theatre

The classic farce-within-a-farce Noises Off is a perfect choice for Lakeshore Players Theatre's winter show; two and a half hours of laughter will warm you up on a cold night. It's ridiculously funny and very meta as it gives us a glimpse into what it takes to make a show, and all the things that can go wrong. Fortunately for the real show, things go very right. Everyone in the nine-person cast as an absolute delight (most of them playing actors playing characters), and director Greta Grosch (of Church Basement Ladies fame) keeps everything hurtling towards the finish line in a beautiful display of organized chaos. Add to that the impressive set that you get to watch the hard-working four-person run crew transform not once but twice, and it's just an all-around good time. Sometimes what you need is what one of the characters says in the show: "I don't go to the theater to listen to other people's problems, I go to be taken out of myself, and hopefully not put back in again." This show delivers on that, although you likely will have to be put back in again when you go back out into the cold and not as funny real world. See Noises Off weekends through February 12 at Hanifl Performing Arts Center in lovely White Bear Lake, plus a pay-what-you-can performance on Monday February 6.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "Meemaw McPhearson's Magic Mushrooms"

Day: 2

Show: 3

Performance Type: In Person

Location: Gluek Park (outdoors)

Length: 55 minutes

Title: Meemaw McPhearson's Magic Mushrooms

By: Brick by Brick Players

Summary: A family returns to their favorite cabin in the woods after the death of their father/husband/son, and it's complicated.

Highlights: This is a great family dramedy created by young artists (playwright Grace Ward, director Hadley Evans Nash) that features a multi-generational cast. We have the titular Meemaw (Kathleen Winters), mother of the deceased; the newly widowed Peggy (Gina Sauer); her teenage daughters Burgundy (Simone Reno) and Lily-Pearl (Sarah Anne Munson); prodigal son Roper (Timothy Kelly), who shows up with new girlfriend Lena (Gillian Gaunt) in tow; and camp employee Toby (Dan Patton), whose known the family for decades. To say they have issues is putting it mildly. Peggy mourns her husband, but cheated on him; Meemaw resents Peggy for changing her son; the girls are thrilled to see their brother, yet resentful that he's been away so long; and Lena is just trying to fit into this family unit. They argue, they run away, they see Big Foot and a puppet show in the woods, but in the end this family loves each other and is there for each other, even when it's hard and messy. The engaged and present cast really feels like a family, and although it's not a musical, music is incorporated nicely into the storytelling. Bonus: the setting is gorgeous in a pretty little park on the Mississippi.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.